Special prosecutors have not decided whether criminal charges will be refiled against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but the actor this week is trying to stop crew members from the indie Western from taking him to court.
Meanwhile, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has seen her criminal trial kicked down the road to next year.
Attorneys for Baldwin and El Dorado Pictures have filed a motion to dismiss the civil case brought in February by Rust crew members Ross Addiego, Doran Curtin and Reese Price, who accused Baldwin and the producers of “negligent and reckless conduct.” Hedging their bets, the defendants also have a motion pending to stay the whole matter until the Rust criminal trial is done and determined.
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New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court has a hearing set for Wednesday on those motions, with the outcome potentially creating a significant blast radius for not just the criminal case, (from which Baldwin was dropped from in April, but also for various other ongoing civil cases against Baldwin in New Mexico and California.
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Baldwin has long insisted he never pulled the trigger on the 1880s prop gun that killed Hutchins and injured Rust director Joel Souza on October 21, 2021 on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set near Santa Fe, NM. Baldwin, pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal, says the gun simply went off – an insistence the FBI disagreed with in its report on the matter released last year. Initially charged by the local D.A. under much more punitive measures, Baldwin, like Gutierrez-Reed, was looking at a maximum of 18 months behind bars and about $5,000 in fines if found guilty.
In that sense, Baldwin was partially vindicated when newly appointed special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis dismissed involuntary manslaughter claims against the actor this spring because of concerns about the state of the firearm in question and potential modifications that may have occurred. While Morrissey and Lewis have proceeded with their investigation of Gutierrez-Reed, who has pleaded not guilty, the duo made sure to leave the door open to pull Baldwin back into the criminal case if evidence warranted it.
That time could be near, maybe.
“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” reads a forensics report commissioned by the prosecutors and made public last week (read the Rust forensics report here).
Weapons examiners Lucien Haag and Michael Haag added in the August 2 report, “If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear, and were to slip from the handler’s thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber.”
Having made their displeasure on how the Rust probe was handled by local police and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies known, whether the special prosecutors now make the move to refile charges against the much-sued Baldwin remains a wildcard even with the new report. “Charges against Mr. Baldwin are being considered but a final decision has not yet been made,” said special prosecutor Morrisey on August 16 after the Haags’ graphics and photography heavy report was submitted. “We won’t be pressured by Ms. Gutierrez’s attorneys or anyone else in this regard.”
Regardless of how that aspect of the case plays out, the already delayed criminal trial was rescheduled Monday from the end of this year to February 21, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer Jason Bowles had no comment on the latest date change when contacted by Deadline.
The reason given for the change was “scheduling issues” around witnesses, I hear from an individual close to the case. New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has penciled in the criminal trial to run through March 6.
That will make it almost a year after a resurrected Rust production began filming in Montana with producer Baldwin back in front of the camera as retired gunslinger Harland Rust and Souza directing.
Completing production a few weeks later, Rust 2.0 saw widower and entertainment lawyer Matthew Hutchins join as an executive producer on both the feature film and a documentary about his wife. The EP role was part of Hutchins’ October 2022 legal settlement with Rust producers after he had filed filed a wrongful-death suit earlier that year.
I think it’s possible a gun can go off without someone pulling the trigger, have they checked with gun experts outside of law enforcement? The movie location was in the desert, an isolated place. I’m assuming anyone could walk onto the set especially at night. Baldwin once did a TV show, perhaps he said something on the show that brought retaliation?
The height of irresponsibility and idiocy is to have live ammunition anywhere near a filming set. Unfortunate firearms accidents have occurred among firearms trained law enforcement and military personnel. To allow the conditions ( live ammo) to exists that precipitate negligent occurrences is foolhardy.
The wide range of opinions here indicate how complicated this case is.
Not complicated at all. You only are allowed to accept a gun from the armorer. And you never point a weapon at anyone even if it’s unloaded. Baldwin violated both rules. He’s clearly at fault. Stop making this into a complicated case…..it’s not….
Lol wut
Turn on any action movie or tv show: right and left actors are pointing guns at each other (and at the camera, which presumably has crew members right behind it) shooting off blanks. This actor and these crew members assumed it would be just like that, because the trusted the person who put the gun in Baldwin’s hand.
It is not complicated. Baldwin aimed a weapon and pulled the trigger and a woman died. That is what guns exist to do.
Witnesses say he didn’t pull the trigger. It was an accident. This is all political bullshit.
Either he did pull the trigger and accidentally fired the gun, Or he didn’t lower the hammer and actually let it drop with force enough to strike the primer of the round that he should have checked to make sure was not in the gun. These are all egregious firearm safety errors *he* made.
FBI says gun only fired with trigger pulled…… case closed…..
“The line producer functions like a chief operations officer in running the production company, responsibilities include supervising the assembly of the shooting company.”
This LP has a history of violating labor practices.
This LP hired the armourer knowing full well the experience and age of the person responsible for handling fire arms. This LP and production cut corners and they know it.
I don’t understand why this LP has zero accountability here.
Where is the number one person in charge of set safety in all of this? The first assistant director The person I believe who handed the loaded firearm to the actor without the armorer present and without checking the firearm himself??? He walked away with a slap on th wrist and a $500 fine!
He already pled guilty, which the people responding to you would know if they took even five minutes to read the documents about the case.
Baldwin is being charged for accepting the weapon from the wrong individual, failing to check it, pointing it at another person, and pulling the trigger without safety precautions in place to prevent harm to others. This is all separate from the armorer’s charges, because even if it had been a blank, it could have hurt or killed; hence regulations.
Great attorney!
Wasn’t aware of this. But I believe the Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for all firearms on set. She needs to be held accountable.